Abstract

Recent allostatic-interoceptive explanations using predictive coding models propose that efficient regulation of the body's internal milieu is necessary to correctly anticipate environmental needs. We review this framework applied to understanding behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) considering both allostatic overload and interoceptive deficits. First, we show how this frame-work could explain divergent deficits in bvFTD (cognitive impairments, behav-ioral maladjustment, brain atrophy, fronto-insular-temporal network atypicality, aberrant interoceptive electrophysiological activity, and autonomic disbalance). We develop a set of theory-driven predictions based on levels of allostatic interoception associated with bvFTD phenomenology and related physiopatho-logical mechanisms. This approach may help further understand the disparate behavioral and physiopathological dysregulations of bvFTD, suggesting targeted interventions and strengthening clinical models of neurological and psychiatric disorders.